pretty in everything but pink

No white before labor day. No colors at a funeral. No black and brown. Never wear too much of one color...

...Except, now you can wear a winter white. And sometimes a little bit of color at funerals is appropriate. And just the right shades of brown and black work magically together. And monochromatic is in, so different hues of one color can be stunning...

These ever-changing rules can be incredibly daunting for many women. Which is why, over the years, so many political ladies have clung to Wife Wear. Wife Wear was the idea that women who stood next to their husbands to show public support should always wear pink.

How the idea took off, I'm not entirely sure. Maybe women were supposed to look soft next to their husbands in order to make them appear even more powerful. Or maybe someone decided women looked better in pink and began to use it as a campaign strategy.

OR maybe some women-important women-we'll call them Mitsy, Tipper, Cricket, and Birdy, were sitting around one afternoon playing poker. They'd just finished off their second bottle of wine and the money- and secrets- were just beginning to flow. However, in three hours they had to be ready for a benefit (think: black tie, political, face-time).

Mitsy looked at her watch and, with a sigh, threw down her cards and said she had to go home to start getting ready for the gala. And Cricket, who rolled her eyes and sighed right back, asked her why, in the world, did she need three hours to get ready? And Mitsy, unaware of Cricket's frustration, said she could get ready in an hour and a half, but she needed at least three hours- just in case- because she always had such a hard time picking out an appropriate outfit.

That's when Birdy got an idea: What if, instead of fussing over what color was most appropriate for the benefit, and what their husbands should wear to ensure they didn't clash, and what they would each wear to make certain they complemented one another, they all decided to wear pink. As long as their husbands didn't wear red they wouldn't clash, and the four of them would look like a cohesive group of best (and influential) friends.

And that's how Wife Wear became a simple solution for women.

However, Michelle Obama is not going to stick to the code created by the women before her. She recently gallivanted around Europe in bright colors, creating quite a buzz. Apparently, Euros were shocked to see the First Lady stepping out of her pink uniform.

But, that's just the image she wants to create: it might be a little shocking, but she's doing it her own way. Maybe from her style a new set of rules will be created, or maybe all the rules will be abolished.

Her rebellious attitude might make things harder for poor old Mitsy, but for those who aren't so politically minded, it will make it a little less frustrating when the government interrupts regular programming. President Obama might be doing the talking, but Michelle will be keeping it interesting. What color will she wear next?